Beet-harvesting machine.



W. EASTER. v BRET HARVESTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 14, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

lnventor. I WW Patented Nov. 11

W. EASTER.

BEET HARVESTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB..14, 191s.

Patented Nov. 11

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Jnventori Witnesses:

W. HASTER.

BERT HARVESTING MACHINE. APPLIGATION FILED MAB..14, 191a.

Patented'Noy. 11, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Hit 0 Witnesses;

uni-TED sTAF-rns rATnN'r OFFICE.

WILHELM EASTER, OF SIEG-EN, GERMANY.

nnnr-nnnvns'rme MACHINE.

owers.

To all whom it may concern:

Be known that I, l/VILHELM HAs'rnR, a subject of the Emperor of Germany,residing at Siegen, WVestphalia, Germany, have invented an ImprovedBeet-Harvesting Machine, of which the following is a specificatlon.

The present invention relates to a beet harvesting machine, of the kindprovided With a share for breaking up the soil, with revolvlng grippersfor picking up the beets, and with endless conveying bands for takin thelatter past the horizontal cutting w eel,a'nd consists in the variousdevices, as hereinafter set forth and claimed, for guiding'the beets tothe grippers, for cleaning;them and maintaining'them in a verticalposition,- as well as for adjusting them relativeto the cutting wheel inaccordance with their thickness.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is il lustrated, Figure 1representing a diagrammatic plan of the machine, Fig. 2, a side view 'ofthe same, partly in section, Fig. 3, a diagrammatic view, showing howthe beets are guided to the grippers, Fig. 4, a vertical section of acleaning'and righting device, Fig.,5, across-section of the same on thelowermost dottedline of Fig. 4, Fig. 6, a ,cross-section onth middleline, Fig. 7, a cr0ss section onthe uppermost dotted line of 'Fig. 14,Fig. 8, a view of the device for adjusting the beets relative to thecutter, Fig.1 ,9, a plan ofthe collecting and transport wagon,'andFigllO, an'end view of Fig. 9.

.Ajwh'eeled frame 1 carries just behind its front .'wheels 'Ztwo plowshares 3 adapted to break upthe ground and loosen the beets. A. leversystem is employed for adjusting the shares vertically, the operatinglever 4 being normally secured, in known manner, to a toother segment. 5on which a scale is pro vided. flhe, front wheels are preferably mountedon pivoted axle-trees so that the machine can be steered in themanner'ofa motor-car. Each share 3 works on a separate @row of beets andhasbehind it arevolving" i'pper9 adaited to pick up the beets. thegigroundl I A curved guideplatefi on the share 3 guides the beets awayfrom the gripperath, as shown in Fig. 3, thi tigrippi tangled behind 7ng arms do not get, en: inthe leaves; A colter 7, arranged theshare 3,isfitted with a guide- Specification of Letters Patent.

plate 8 which guides the beets back into the gripper path, in positionfor bein picked up by the gripper arms.

The grippers which, just as the other movable elements of the machine,are driven from the rear axle 10, are fitted with radiat'-.

ing arms 11 the outerends of which are Patented N ov. 11, 1913.Application filed March 14, 1913. Serial No. 754,309

outer parts of theimembers 21 are parallel and are set closer togetherthan the adjacent parts of the members 12 and 12 which diverge outward.The forks are. adapted to pass through a cylindrical casing 14 which isconcentric with the gripper and which has a slit 15 forming a. passagefor the arms 11. From the lower edge of the casing 14 a share-likeplatel5 projects so as to take slightly into the ground and receive the beetsfrom the guide 8, each beet being held by the plate until it is pickedup by one of the gripper arms. The beets are gripped between the bends13 and passed through the casing 14 within which, as shown in Fig. 4, aplurality of arms 17 are pivotally arranged. Springs 16 act on the arms17 and hold their free ends normally assembled in about the centeroffthe casing. The fork 12 and the beet must pass between the assembledarms 17 which close around the beet and turnthe same within the forkinto an upright position, the narrow part of the beet being gripped bythe fork 21. Moreover, the

arms 17 clear the beet of earth for'which 1 purpose they are preferablyprovided on their abutting'ends with brushes 18. In the upper part ofthe casing 14 a wedge 19 is arranged which engages the beet with itsinclined edge 22 and guides it onto two parallel supporting plates 23which project through an aperture into the casing. The wedge 19 as wellas the ends of the plates 23v are all adapted to mesh with theforkmembers 12 and 21, as shown in Fig. 7. A brush 20 is provided on thewedge/19 for cleaning the part of the beet which was pro tected bytheforks from contact witl the brushes l8.

After the beet has been delivered onto the plates 23 by the joint actionof the forks and the wedge 19, "it is gripped between studs 25 connectedto two endless conveying bands 24 and working in slots in the plates 23.The bands, which convey the beets to a horizontal cutting wheel 32, areguided on rollers 26*, 26 and 27 27 rotating about vertical axes. Therollers 26* and 27 are adjustable and pressed by springs 28 which urgethe bands toward one another, the bands having thus a tendency to adjustthemselves to beets of different thicknesses. The inner stretches of thebands are moreover supported by spring-pressed rollers 29 which pressthe same against the beets so that alternate small and large beets willbe retained by the bands and urged upward by virtue of their taperingshape. Above the conveyin bands two wires 30 are stretched ina%ongitudinal direction. These wires are inclined against the travelingdirection of the bands and are adapted to gather up and raise the leavesfrom the beets. A pivoted rod 31 is arranged between the wires 30 andinclined in the opposite direction, its free end being disposed in theneighborhood of the cutting-wheel 32 and adapted to bear against thehead of the beets. One pair of the rollers 29 is connected, as shown inFig. 8, to levers 36 and 36 suspended from a pivot 35. Connected tothese levers is a toggle-joint 34, 34 35, 35' which controls the rod 31through the medium of a connecting rod 33. If a thick beet should passbetween the rollers 29 and separate the latter, the movement will betransmitted to the toggle-joint which raises the arm 31 and allows thebeet to move upward so as to be cut in a correspondingly lower position.Whenever a thin beet passes between the rollers, the action of thetoggleomt will be to press such beet down and cause 1t to be cut in ahigh position. This adjustment of the beets relative to the cutter isessential, since, as is well-known, the head of a thin beetis richer insugar than that of a thick one and therefore ought to be spared as muchas possible. It is also essential for the cutting process that the beetshould be brought into a vertical position, and this is attained by therighting elements, 17 as previously explained.

The cuttin wheel 32, wh'ch is constructed and operate in known manner,throws away the cut-ofi portion of the beets, while the beets themselvesare delivered by the bands onto a conveyer 37. From the latter thematerials are conveyed in any suitable manner into boxes 40 adapted torun on rails 39 on a separate van 38. Arms 42, pivoted to the boxes 40at 41, carry on their free ends rollers 43 by means of which the boxescan be suspended and run on crossrails 48 carried in an elevatedposition on a frame 47. Being thus supported on the rails 48 the boxescan be moved to one side and tipped about the pivot 41 for deliveringtheir contents into a collecting van 49.

For raising the boxes onto the rails 48,

winches 46 are provided from which ropes 44 are carried over deflectingrollers 45 and 45 to the arms 42.

The constructional details of the machine may be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

I claim 1. A beet harvesting machine comprising a wheeled frame, avertically adjustable share held in said frame so as to break up thesoil, a revolving gripper arranged behind such share so as to pick upthe beets, a guide-plate on said share adapted to move the beets awayfrom the gripper path to prevent the gripper arms from getting entangledin the leaves, another guide-plate adapted to guide the beets back intothe gripper path in position for being caught by the arms, a pair ofcoacting conveyer bands, means for transferring the beets from thegripper to said conveying bands, means for righting the beets andclearing them of earth before they are delivered to said con-* veyingbands, a cutting wheel for heading 7 the beet-s while held between theconveying bands, and means for adjusting the beets relative to thecutter according to their thickness, substantially as and for the pur'pose set forth.

2. A beet harvesting machine, comprising a wheeled frame, a verticaladjustable share held by said frame so as to break up the soil, arevolving gripper arranged behind said share, said gripper having forkedarms adapted to pick up the beets with their forks, means for guidin thebeets to the forks without the latter being entangled with the leaves, acasing arranged concentrically with the gripper so that the forks arecompelled to pass the beets through the same, pivoted spring-actuatedarms arranged in said casing so as to abut against the beets, clear themof earth and turn them in the forks into an upright position, a pair ofconveying bands, means for transferring the beets, while in an uprightposition, from the forks to the conveying bands, a cutter for headingthebeets while held between the bands, and means for adjusting the beetsvertically relative to the cutter in accordance with their thickness,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

I 3. A beet harvesting machine, comprismg a wheeled frame, a verticallyadjustable share held by said frame so as to break up the soil, arevolving gripper arranged be- ,hind said share, said gripper havinforked arms adapted to pick up the beets with their forks, means forguiding the beets to the forks without the latter being entangled in theleaves, a casing arranged concentrically with the gripper so that theforks are compelled to pass the beets through the same,

pivoted spring-actuated arms arranged in and easing so as to abut agamstthe beets,

' veying bands, brushes arranged on said wedge for cleaning the beets, acutter for heading the beets while held between the bands, and means foradjusting the beets relative to the cutter their, thickness,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

at. A beet harvesting machine, comprising a wheeled frame, a verticallyadjustable share held by saidframe so as to break up the'soil, arevolving gripper arranged behind said share, said gripper having forkedarms adapted to pick up the beets with their forks, means for guidingthe beets tothe forks without the latter being entangled in the leaves,a casing arranged concentrically With the gripper so that the forks arecompelled to pass the beets through the same, pivoted spring-actuatedarms arranged in said casing so as to abut against the beets, clear themof earth and turn them in the fork into an upright position, a pair ofplates arranged so as-to project into the casing and mesh with theforks, a Wedge arranged in the casing so as to guide the beets fromtheforks to the plates, a pair of coacting conveying bands having studs inaccordance withadapted .to take through slots in the plates so as tocarry the beets with them, a cutter for heading the beets while heldbetween the bands, and means for adjusting the beets relative to thecutter in accordance with their thickness, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

5. A beet harvesting machine, comprising a wheeled frame, a share heldin said frame so as to break up the soil, a gripper ar+ ranged behindsaid share so as to pick up the beets, a pair of coacting conveyingbands guided on vertically disposed rollers, means for transferring thebeets from the gripper to the conveying bands, means for clearing thebeets of earth and righting them before they are transferred to thebands, springactuated rollers arranged so as to clamp the innerstretches of the bands against the tapering sides of the beets and urgethem upward, a pair of levers connected to said clamp rollers, atoggle-joint controlled by said levers, a pivoted arm held by thetoggle-joint so as tobear against the heads of the beets and adjust thelatter vertically as the position of the clamp rollers is varied by thethickness of such beets, a cutter arranged so as to head the beets afterthe latter have been thus adjusted, and a pair of wires stretched overand along the conveying bands in an inclined position" so as to engagethe leaves of the beets and raise them out of contact wlth the cutter.

WILHELM EASTER. Witnesses:

Lotns VANDORN, GERTRUD Seminar

